Coaching vs Therapy

FORWARD FOCUSSED COACHING

Life and Leadership Coaching

Coaching vs Therapy

Although life coaches and therapists occasionally help clients with similar problems, their work is not the same. Here are the main differences between a life coach and therapist.

FOCUS OF THE PROGRAMME

The focus of life coaching is one of the main things that distinguishes it from therapy. Life coaches identify and describe current problematic behaviours so the client can work to modify them. Therapists analyze their client’s past as a tool for understanding present behaviours. In other words, therapists focus on “why” certain behavioral patterns occur, and coaches work on “how” to work toward a goal.

Therapy will focus on your thoughts and feelings and how they are informed by your past. Life coaching may touch on these concepts as you break down your limiting beliefs and examine your blueprint, but its ultimate focus is always on the present and the future.

GOALS OF THE PROGRAMME

When you look at a coaching vs. counselling practice, it’s important to recognise that counselling helps clients explore and understand their subconscious and unconscious mind. It aims to reach a deep understanding of behaviours and patterns with a goal of overall mental health. This is why counselling and therapy can be helpful for issues like depression and anxiety.

The goal of life coaching is to help you get “unstuck.” Life coaching is about action and results. Life coaches measure their client’s success with key performance indicators and specific behavioural outcomes. They’ll help you set SMART goals, provide accountability and celebrate your wins – all on the road to achieving your dreams.

FRAMEWORK

While both life coaching and therapy use talk sessions with a trained professional. Many of the similarities in how they are organised end there. Therapy involves more unstructured sessions that are guided by the client as well as the type of therapy. Life coaching sessions are much more structured and focused on actionable strategies and visible growth.

The duration of the services also varies. Therapy tends to be a long-term commitment – many people go to therapy for years or even their entire lives. The main difference between a life coach and therapist is that a life coach sets clients up with the process and skills they need to eventually coach themselves. Life coaching isn’t meant to be forever. Life coaches also do not diagnose the people they work with, while therapists determine illnesses and pathologies so their patients can be clinically treated.

Tony Robbins